Would you like to visit “The Palace of Eternity?”

20Aug

Many of us share a fascination for books that cross genre lines, and I thought long and hard about whether to label my own magical realism collection as science fiction or as fantasy, knowing that each genre’s followers have fairly specific expectations.

This is why new indie writer Andre Jones has my staunch admiration. He has written a three novel series that flies in the face of genre classifications, with multiple story lines firmly rooted in both science fiction and fantasy. Check out the information below on both Andre and on his first novel “The Palace of Eternity” and for a brief interview with this author.

You’d think riding wyverns, and being in the company of a shape-changer and an armoured telepath, you’d be safe enough. Prophecy, however, always turns one reality into another.

Shak’aran is a far away world full of exotic beings intrigue and magic. So how did humans get there? Leonie is a feline thief, down on her luck and fighting for survival in the uncaring city of Delta. Various cults are after her, as is the Jart’lekk, the local assassins guild. And this is a good day. In her travels to assist Fieron, her shape-changer companion, Leonie learns more about herself and her past. She also gains many enemies … even the dead ones still come after her. But, regardless of her prowess, her uncanny abilities (and being able to ride wyverns) magic is the cause of her undoing … on this world, at least.

Andre Jones was born and bred on the east coast of Australia. He had a varied childhood (mostly involving something to do with the beach) and developed an early interest in drawing and reading.

A friend introduced him to role playing games – and NOT those of the computer variety – real ones. As most gamers had no doubt realised at some point, a new gaming system could be designed with better rules (and omitting all those ‘nuisance’ rules). Andre developed such a system, then decided it needed its own world to test it. Joining the Navy put a dampener on the this scheme, so all the details were to be included in a book … or so he thought. Also being an avid scifi reader, it was only natural to include aspects of scifi.

‘In the Fullness of Time’ is a trilogy involving fantasy and futuristic Earth. Palace of Eternity is book one, Shadow of the Tower is book two and Depths of Time (working title) is the third and final book.

When pushed, he can’t decide who, if any, writer influenced him the most, but the names of Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein and Harry Harrison adorn his bookshelves along with Katherine Kerr, Stephen Donaldson and Robin Hobb, just to name a few. He now lives in Victoria, Australia, and shares his life with his Scottish wife, daughter and two manic British Shorthair cats. When not writing, he still gets involved with Navy activities, permaculture and designing his straw bale home on his soon-to-be self-sufficient farm.

Sherrie: Have you found it difficult to blend the two different genres of fantasy and science fiction?

Andre: Maybe because I love Science Fiction and Fantasy so much, to me there was no border and therefore no difficulty. I know that may sound crazy to some – magic is fantasy and has no correlation with real science (so how can they be regarded as ‘the same’?) – but through my novels (more specifically in Shadow of the Tower) I tried this analogy: there are natural forces in the universe that, when harnessed correctly – can give you a desired outcome (ie harnessing electricity to give you light). A science-based civilisation uses technology to do this – making wires, filament, bulbs etc. In a low-tech world, ‘magic’ is prominent, they’ve learnt to utilise esoteric means to convert the natural forces to get a desired outcome. But you have to believe 100% that it will work (as well as knowledge and training). A scientist and a sourcer are one and the same – they just used different tools.So, other than the method of hanessing the forces – the results are the same. Its simply that attitude/belief-system of the user that determines what method to use. Spoiler alert – based on that premise, you just might find magic going head-to-head with hi-tech weapons and gadgetry on a futuristic earth … and winning.

Sherrie: What is the thing that you like best so far about your three novel series?

Andre: A couple of things come to mind: I may be wrong (there could be bias ;), but I feel that there’s a slightly different aspect of the magic and hi-tech blend, the theory behind it and the way it manifests in the ‘real’ world. Also, timetravel is a concept that I find extremely intriguing and the various paradoxes that it can cause. You can’t travel through time without travelling through space. I remove the need to have massive engines for FTL travel or ‘hyperspace’.

Note that Andre will be publishing his series online soon and I will run information here on where one can purchase his book. In the meantime, you can check out the first twenty chapters at Worthy of Publishing .